Will ailing Andre Drummond be back soon with Pistons?

Utah Jazz’s Mo Williams (5) shoots as the Pistons’ Greg Monroe (10) defends in the first quarter during a game Monday, March 11, in Salt Lake City. Defense -- and wins -- have been hard to come by for a while for the Pistons. (AP Photo)

“I think he’s made progress,” Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. “For the first time he was able to do some team related activities (Monday). He got up and down the court a little bit at shootaround. I think any time you start to reintegrate a guy with your team, that’s always a positive. I think he’s definitely on the right track.

“Obviously we’ve been very conservative with this for very intelligent reasons. I think we’ll continue to take it (slow) and just up his work level every day.”

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Frank said he will meet with strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander to see what the next step is.

Kander said after Monday’s game that no tests are currently planned, but Drummond is progressing nicely and is working on conditioning.

There has been some speculation the Pistons could shut Drummond down for the season, but Frank made it clear once Drummond is healthy he will play.

“I think if a guy’s healthy you want him to play, especially a young guy,” Frank said. “It’s not like he’s played a lot of games. If he’s not healthy regardless, obviously you would never do that. This is a game where we’re paid to play. If Andre’s healthy enough then he’ll definitely be on the court. If it’s deemed that he’s not healthy enough then he won’t.

“If you can control it, you’d like him to be able to play,” Frank added. “You wouldn’t like that his last game was (Feb. 6) and then going into an entire offseason and then summer league being the first time he is playing. If that’s what it turns out to be then that’s what it turns out to be. In an ideal word if Andre can get healthy and doctors give him the thumbs up and everyone’s comfortable with it then you’d love to get him back on the floor.”

Drummond’s defensive presence would be welcome for the Pistons, who have given up 100-plus points in 13 of the 19 games Drummond has missed.

Detroit has lost nine straight, the longest losing streak in the league by five games.

The Pistons have given up an average of 107.9 points during their nine-game losing streak, including 111.7 in their last six.

“Defensively we haven’t been as good as we were earlier,” Will Bynum said after Monday’s loss. “It’s tough that way. It’s tough on the offensive end when you’re constantly taking the ball out of the net. It’s tough.

“It hurts,” Bynum added. “It hurts mentally. You try not to take this frustration home to your family. You try to stay as positive as possible, keep moving forward.”

As bad as Detroit has been defensively, the offense has not been much better.

The Pistons have averaged just 90.3 points in their nine-straight losses.

“We have to make adjustments as a team,” Greg Monroe said. “We definitely have to step up defensively. We have to start making some shots as a team too. We have to force the issue and be aggressive on offense.”

Detroit has been without Brandon Knight (ankle) for the last three games and it’s unclear when Knight will return.

Jose Calderon left Monday’s game early with flu-like symptoms.

If the Pistons hope to snap their losing streak before it hits double digits it won’t be easy.

Detroit plays at defending NBA champion Miami Friday. The Heat have won 23 in a row and show no signs of slowing down.

The Pistons fell 110-88 in their last trip to Miami on Jan. 25, but defeated the Heat 109-99 at The Palace back on Dec. 30.

Dave Pemberton covers the Pistons. Email him at dave.pemberton@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @drpemberton.